I tend to think that the difficulty is set by how 'deep' the heroes want to go. Do you want to just run it as 'you and the boys in the heroplane'? (equivalent enemies from similar questers)
Do you want to run it in the roles of ancient heroes? Opponents are 10w3. Are you taking the role of the Thunderbrothers, etc in this? 10w4-5 opposition. The roles of the greater deities are very difficult and hard to do. This is just something I've toyed with.
The reward, of course, is commeasurately greater. In the first case, you might get a magic spear. The second you might get a magical power in the 10w2 range (Lighting Spear). I'd hate to think what the higher end would get -- an affinity at a high level?
But again, most heroquests in my campaign have been done to help out the community, mostly to deal with a threat. And the difficulty of the problem dictates how dangerous the quest is. Usually they can get away with the first level...
This is one reason why the full lightbringer quest is hard to do. Even with an entire tribe backing you, special bonuses at each station from 'split off' groups, funky items and seaons of preparation, its still very, very tough.
> > 2) How long do the bonuses from ritual magic, time, and location
last
> > in relation to a heroquest?
Time doesn't really pass on heroquest... or it passes oddly. Weeks may go by for those who helped you get into the otherworld while you may be gone subjectively for a day. Conversely, you might spend a lifetime amongst the Storm Tribe, learning lore and participating in the distant Gods War but you're only gone for the Sacred Time.
> The example HQ (Narrator's Book p.43) has the adventurers apply
their bonus
> from crossing to the Other World "for the duration of the quest" (at
no
> extra cost, with no estimate of duration required), and this is how
we've
> played it in our game. Carryover, too, doesn't seem to expire if you
travel
This is how we work it as well.
> for "forty days and forty nights" between stations of a quest, nor
can I see
> why it should. Time's funny on the other side, anyway (except for
those
> filthy sorcerers), and the extra bookkeeping that might be involved
doesn't
Carryover is bad enough for bookkeeping. I'll be glad of a better way to do it.
> seem to be worth it. Again, except for those filthy foreign
sorcerers, who
> *deserve* the extra overhead! :-)
Ranvald slay their putrid bodies. Their souls are already forfeit.
> > 3) Do the mechanics for extended contests apply to all types of
tests
> > in a heroquest.
>
> No, only to those extended contests where the narrator thinks it's
> appropriate. HW:RiG p.245 does suggest that it's "likely" to be
used, but
> that's the narrator's call (of course, as always).
I only do extended challenges when its 'dramatically appropriate' or when the players say 'please, can we do this as a dramatic contest?' When its not an extended challenge, I let the heroes get 1/2 the carryover as a bonus to skills rather than an edge (which they can't use)
> > These are questions that didn't seem clearly covered in any of the
books.
>
> Yep. You have to read the rules closely to work out what's going on.
> Splitting the heroquest chapter between two books doesn't help,
either.
Yeah. However, there's been a lot of discussion of heroquests here on the list in the last 2 years, IIRC. Some on the Herowars list too. Its a pity HQ's are so rules heavy.
Hope this helps,
Jeff
Powered by hypermail